The present invention is directed to a shoe tying system which allows shoes to be tied remotely.
More and more people are having trouble tying shoes because, due to physical restrictions, they are unable to reach the laces. It is among the objects of the present invention to allow shoe laces to be secured while the wearer is standing or sitting, without the need to actually manually engage the laces, once the system of the present invention has be put in place.
The present invention comprises a shoe tying system which permits remote tightening and loosening of shoe laces, the system comprising a) a base housing having a tongue securable beneath a portion of the laces of a shoe to be tightened; b) a rotatable column about which portions of those laces may be coiled to adjust a level of tension in those laces; c) a cap having a first configuration of slot in an upper surface; d) a key adapted to be fit on a remote end of an extension rod, the key having a second configuration complementary to the first configuration of the slot in the upper surface of the cap; whereby a wearer of the shoe to be tightened may remotely adjust a tension in the laces of the shoe by rotating said rotatable column in a first direction to increase the tension and in a second opposed direction to loosen the tension. The invention additionally comprises a geometrically shaped protrusion formed on a top surface of said rotatable column, a complementarily shaped recess formed on a nether surface of the cap, a spring biasing the recess away from said protrusion, whereby when the key collapses the spring bringing the recess into engagement with the protrusion, rotation of the key turns the cap and, with it, the rotatable column, winding and unwinding the shoe lace onto and from the rotatable column, tightening and loosening the shoe lace without requiring manual engagement thereof.
Additionally, the shoe tying system comprises at least a partial gear formed on an interior periphery of the cap, an external mating gear formed on an internal portion of the rotatable column, the partial gear and the external mating gear being adapted to maintain tension in the shoe lace when the key is disengaged from the cap.
Various other features, advantages, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following detailed description.